Psychoanalysis and God: A Comparative Analysis of Jacques Lacan and John of the Cross

Abstract

The author makes the case that Lacan and John of the Cross, taken together, reveal the full spectrum of the human journey toward God. Lacan s psychoanalytic theory is a valuable resource for understanding the earlier stages of the comprehensive spiritual development of the human person. By contrasting Lacan s thought with the spiritual theology of John of the Cross, the author finds that both of them coordinate their understanding of human psychology in terms of the tripartite division of the imaginary, the symbolic, and the real